I carry the weight of the world on my shoulders, I am the earth, I am Gaia.

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Reflections on an Ill-fated Military Stint

It was November of 1992 when I packed my '70 Ford van with all my belongings and moved to North Carolina with by soon-to-be-ex-boyfriend. Within a month of our arrival, we loaded all of his belongings in the same '74 van and delivered him to his brother in Georgia. Upon returning to North Carolina, I made a for naught attempt at finding a job and making a new life. Although I was surrounded with family, all my friends were back in Florida.

On New Years Eve, I was alone without any direction, driving around Asheville. I soon found myself outside the Navy recruiter's office with thoughts of college money on my mind. After all, I was on my own in I wanted to go to college. At 22, my parents would not and could not pay my tuition. My mother was retired and my father, who had not found a job in North Carolina yet, was on his way to a deep alcoholic depression.

So, there I was, outside the recruiter's office, contemplating the previously unthinkable. I was going to enlist.